Indian team arrives in Canberra

Indians play a three-day game against Australian Capital Territory XI in Canberra on Thursday.

The visiting Indian cricket team, doing a sit-in in Sydney since the second Test, finally arrived in Canberra on Wednesday afternoon for their practice match starting on Thursday.

A posse of media personnels were waiting outside the team hotel since morning before Anil Kumble and his men arrived at 2.30 pm local time. The team, by the looks of it, appeared tired though Harbhajan Singh looked in high spirits.

The team arrived by bus amid a tremendous heatwave yet the Indian cricketers were keen to attend the practice session at the Manuka Oval, scheduled at 4 pm, in full force.

Along with the cricketers, wives and children of Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Wasim Jaffer, Dinesh Kaarthick and VVS Laxman too arrived.

Team manager Chetan Chauhan was crowded from all corners soon after he had disembarked from the bus. He was polite and met all questions with a straight bat, stating that they were doing everything which the Indian board was asking to do.

"We are doing whatever the board is asking us to do. We are just following their directives," said Chauhan.

Harbhajan, the chief protagonist in the racism row, was the man in the centre of storm as everyone wanted him to say or word or two on the matter.

"Bhajji" on his part, kept his counsel, and didn't fall for media's bait.

It is learnt that the appeal against ban on Harbhajan had gone from three different sources -- the Indian board back home, the team manager and from the player himself.

Indians play a three-day game against Australian Capital Territory XI in Canberra on Thursday.